Airline Permission for Firearms & International Travel

When you leave the country with firearms, you need a few pieces of paperwork AND permission from the airline you are flying with.

This means that even if you are flying on a US carrier and might not need this for the first leg of your flight (i.e. if it's CONUS) - the airlines still require prior approval to fly with firearms INTERNATIONALLY.

So at your point of departure from the US, the airline will want to see that your reservation has firearms approved.

You MUST call ahead and should do so as soon as you book your flight. Tell the agent why you are travelling (eg. a world championship sport competition), tell them you are travelling with sporting firearms, and you are calling to request permission for BOTH the departure and return flights. (every leg of your trip). This means that if you're switching carriers at a connection, you need to call EACH airline. This is not a "maybe" - YOU MUST GET PERMISSION FROM EACH AIRLINE. An example would be that you board in Colorado with Delta, but connect at Dulles onto KLM...you must call both Delta and KLM.

Tell them that you would like the permission for firearms noted on your reservation. . . ask where the counter agent will find the permission notes on the day of travel and ask that it be put into the SSR (special service request) notes of your reservation. Ask that they email it to you once the permission is confirmed. (some airlines, eg. LOT, will send email confirmation).

This step is also where you often pay for firearms, if the airline has special charges. You want to make sure that your fee covers the bag firearms are in - say they charge $150...ask if that's the bag fee and firearm fee? Or just for the firearm. It varies and some airlines charge per gun on top of the additional bag that the guns are in.

To make check-in faster and less stressful, you should bring good quality color copies of the following items:

• CBP form 4457

• Match invitation (or details of your hunt)

• Permit for country you are travelling to

• Photocopy of your passport

• Some international airlines want your "permit" to own/have the gun. Most people use their CCW permit or a letter from your local sheriff detailing the serial #s of firearms and that you are legally allowed to own them.

Make a set of these paper copies for each leg of the trip, so you can just hand them to an agent without them walking off to copy your originals. It makes check-in faster, they usually have never done this, so if you show up with all the paperwork in order, they will be less stressed and you will get through faster.

Your travel can be an adventure in a good way, but it helps to avoid the unpleasant sort of adventure by doing your legwork ahead of time to put your paperwork in order.